Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden have found a new combination of materials that may pave the way for faster and more effective data storage in electronic devices such as computers and smartphones. Their discovery is that magnetic damping can be minimized, all but eliminating energy losses in the dynamics of magnetic materials.

The material itself is a binary metallic ferromagnetic alloy of cobalt and iron with damping approaching the magnitude of 10^-4. According to the researchers—including Danny Thonig, Olle Eriksson and Olof Karis, of the university's Department of Physics and Astronomy—damping this low has previously been seen only in metalloids or magnetic insulators, such as certain iron oxides.

Magnetic materials have proven to be effective to store and transfer data. Subsequent developments, including magnetic tape and hard discs, enabled an explosion in information technology. Today about 70% of all data is stored in magnetic media.

To meet data storage needs, smaller and faster devices are needed that require either new storage technology or new magnetic materials. Image credit: Pixabay.Thus far, micrometer-sized magnetic storage devices have achieved transfer speeds on the order of nanoseconds to meet today’s storage needs, with data transfer in the range of 100 petabytes a day. To continue to meet data storage needs, smaller and faster devices are needed that will require either new technology for storage or the discovery of new magnetic materials.

According to the researchers, the phenomenon of low damping in iron-cobalt can be explained by a unique property in its internal electronic structure in which the damping is proportional to the number of electronic states at the highest occupied energy level.

The scientists say their research sheds new understanding on damping mechanisms that could enable theoretical predictions of new and even more energy-efficient materials—among both metals and metalloids—with damping properties potentially even lower than that of the iron-cobalt alloy.